# "Take On Me" "Take On Me" is A-ha's 1985 synthpop hit whose rotoscoped music video, set in a comic book world, became one of MTV's most iconic clips. Decades later, the song and video turned into a durable meme template, spawning YouTube literal-lyrics parodies, animated crossovers with Family Guy, The Simpsons and Elden Ring, and a steady stream of covers that keep the sketchy-pencil aesthetic alive online. ## Origin "Take On Me" was released on October 19th, 1984 by Warner Bros. Records as the debut single from Norwegian synthpop trio A-ha, and later appeared on their 1985 album Hunting High and Low[1]. The song only broke through after a second re-recording paired with the now-famous music video directed by Steve Barron, which blends live action with pencil-sketch rotoscoping to depict a woman being pulled into the comic book she is reading[1]. The video won six MTV Video Music Awards in 1986 and became a fixture of early MTV rotation, giving later internet users a shared frame of reference to remix. The official upload on A-ha's YouTube channel has racked up more than a billion views, keeping the source material one click away for every new parody[5]. - **Platform:** MTV (original video) / YTMND and YouTube (meme spread) - **Creator:** A-ha (song and video); meme parodies by various online creators - **Date:** 1984 ## Overview "Take On Me" is best known online as the source of one of the most-copied music videos in internet history, thanks to its rotoscoped pencil-sketch animation of a woman being pulled into a comic book world[1]. The meme side of the song mostly lives on YouTube, where creators re-dub the vocals, swap the sketch characters for cartoons or video game heroes, and rebuild the treadmill-chase and hand-through-the-paper beats shot for shot[2]. The most influential online version is the "literal video" cut, where the lyrics are rewritten to narrate exactly what is happening on screen ("guys chasing me with a pipe wrench")[2]. That style set the tone for later remixes, which either lean on the same beat-for-beat recap gag or drop familiar characters into A-ha's alternate comic universe, from Chris Griffin wandering in during a Family Guy cutaway[3] to a Tarnished sprinting through The Lands Between in a Carbot animation[4]. ## How to Use Online riffs on "Take On Me" typically pick one of two templates. The first is the "literal video" approach popularized by DustoMcNeato, where creators re-sing the chorus with lyrics that describe on-screen action instead of the original words[2]. The second swaps the sketchy protagonists for other characters, keeping the rotoscope look and key story beats (the diner, the crumpled paper, the hand reaching through) so the reference reads instantly, as seen in the Steamed Hams and Elden Ring versions[6][4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is "Take On Me"? It's a 1985 synthpop single by Norwegian band A-ha whose rotoscoped music video became a long-running template for online covers, literal-lyrics rewrites and animated crossovers[1][2]. ### Where did "Take On Me" come from? The single was released by Warner Bros. Records on October 19th, 1984, and paired with Steve Barron's pencil-sketch music video the following year[1][5]. ### What does "Take On Me" mean? As A-ha wrote it, the chorus is a plea to a love interest to give the singer a chance; online, the phrase mostly points to the video and its many parodies rather than the lyric itself[1]. ### How do you use "Take On Me"? Creators typically either re-sing the chorus with lyrics narrating the action on screen, as DustoMcNeato did in 2008[2], or restage the video's key shots with different characters, like the Steamed Hams and Elden Ring versions[6][4]. ### Is "Take On Me" still popular? Yes, the song's classic status is backed by an official A-ha upload with more than a billion YouTube views and a steady stream of parodies through the 2020s[5][4]. ## References 1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_On_Me#Music_video]() 2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HE9OQ4FnkQ]() 3. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Out_Is_Hard_to_Do]() 4. [https://youtu.be/FNNI_4tk9fs]() 5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djV11Xbc914]() 6. [https://youtu.be/Iol3Xydcn4I]() 7. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/take-on-me]() 8. [https://youtu.be/fCe2bTtKCJg]() 9. [https://youtu.be/J6jHqvc--Nw]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/take-on-me Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library